Hungary:
Vote on controversial new constitution

18 April 2011 – PresseuropHVG

“Blessed by parliament,” headlines Heti Világgazdasá. Reporting on the run-up to the 18 April vote on Hungary’s new constitution, the Budapest weekly explains that the document will replace the country’s existing constitution (established in 1949 and modified in 1990) and that its preamble which draws attention to the Christian roots of the Hungarian state has been the subject of much controversy. HVG also notes that the new constitution will reinforce the government’s dominance over parliament and limit the powers of Hungary’s constitutional council. “What was the supreme authority over parliament will now become the guardian of the constitution’s jurisdiction,” notes the newspaper, which remarks on “the iron discipline” that reigns in the ranks of the ruling Fidesz party. On 11 April, members of Fidesz voted “like one man and without blinking” to approve the final draft — a united front “which will keep Hungarians smiling for many years to come.”